One of the hunters dragged his tongue across his lips, slow and loud, the firelight making his grin shine.
"Kehehe… let's kill the brat first. Quick, chop chop. And the girl…" his eyes rolled toward her, "we'll take her with us, heh."
The second tilted his head back, licking his teeth, his laugh bubbling out dumb and ugly.
"Oooh, this one's smooth. Pretty. Hehehe. She'll be fun before we toss her out again."
The first leaned close, hunching his shoulders, his laugh low like a mutt choking.
"Yeeah… and then we drop her again. Let her scream, let her cry for help. More demons will come running, sniff sniff sniff, and we'll cut them down one… by… one."
The third clapped his hands hard. Clap! The sound cracked loud in the cave. His grin stretched ear to ear.
"That's the way! The Zhū Mó Lián will praise us for sure! Wahahaha!"
Liu Yang's mouth hung open. Then slowly it twisted into that awkward grin again. He raised his hands, and Clap!, Clap!, Clap!
he started clapping, soft but steady.
"Bravo. Amazing. Truly amazing. Are you guys villains or tour guides? Because you're explaining everything so clearly. Even my grandma back on Earth would understand this plan."
He bent forward, one hand on his knee, the other hand making fake scribbles in the air.
"Okay, let me write this down… kill me, take girl, drop girl, lure more demons, kill them too… yep, got it. Spoilers included. Thanks, guys, very professional."
His head tilted, eyes wide, lips twitching.
"Should I also expect you to tell me your schedule next? Like, where you'll be tomorrow, what time lunch break is, which tavern you drink at? Maybe even give me the map to your base?"
Beside him the demoness stopped moving and talking all of a sudden. Her body stiff like stone. Her eyes wide open but shaking inside like they didn't know where to look.
They were wet and trembling, like she was holding back a storm that wanted to burst out but couldn't.
Her lips pressed together so hard they turned white, not moving, not even a twitch.
Her hands dropped into her lap, both fists curling in tight until the knuckles showed pale. The torchlight from the hunters fell over her skin, and the veins on her arms stood out sharp, crawling up like lines of fire ready to burst.
She sat there, her whole body stiff, like she wanted to scream but no voice came out. Her lips were shut tight and her eyes wide, but her shoulders shook and her arms looked weak.
Then all at once she stood up, quick and shaky, her legs almost giving out under her. She stumbled one step, then rushed straight behind Liu Yang.
Her chest pressed close to his back, soft and warm, and he could feel the round shape of it even through his clothes.
Every time her body trembled it rubbed against him a little, and her breath slipped out hot on his ear.
She grabbed his shoulders, both hands tight, her fingers digging like she didn't want to let go. She was hiding now, hiding behind him, using his body like a shield.
Her legs trembled bad, shaking again and again like they could fall at any second. She leaned out a little, just enough for one red glowing eye to peek out from behind his arm. Her lips stayed shut, her jaw tight, but her body told everything.
Liu Yang tilted his head just enough to whisper back, his lips twitching.
"Wow… just wow. You said you'd be my wall, my shield, my protector, remember? And now look at this… my wall is hiding behind me."
He let out a short dry laugh, shaking his head. "I thought I'd hit the wall, but turns out the wall itself hit the wall. Great, just great."
Her whole face lit up red, cheeks to ears, like someone pressed a giant embarrassment button on her. She put both hands behind her back, kicked her foot slow on the ground, and her lips moved like, What? What? I didn't say anything…
The moment just stayed there weird, like it was stuck in the air, not moving forward, almost sillyand awakward.
Liu Yang's mouth twitched first, the corner shaking like it didn't know what to do, then slowly it pulled up, curling into a grin that spread wider and wider.
He lifted his chin after that, slow but firm, his eyes looking sharp in the firelight, but behind that sharpness there was still a little playful shine hiding there.
He raised one hand slow, fingers curling, then pointed at the hunters. His coat (which didn't even exist) seemed to flap behind him anyway, like invisible wind was blowing just for him.